Marked
by KataHime
Summary: Prompt: When you turn 18, the name of your soulmate appears on your wrist.


**Marked**

 **A/N: I fudged Gibbs' birth year a bit. And guesstimated Jen's and Abby's off of that. Yay for OT3 fun! Gibbs born 1964, Jen born 1966, Abby born 1979. Mentions of Shibbs, implied Ziva/Kate, mentions of suicidal thoughts and attempted self-harm.**

 **Prompt: When you turn 18, the name of your soulmate appears on your wrist.**

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It's 1982, and he shows Shannon her name on his wrist. She has his name as well, and he grins. Her smile falters at the two additional names on his wrist, faded but there. It's nothing, they're no one, and he loves her, he always would. He marries her not long after they discover she's pregnant, a shotgun wedding that's filled with sadness; his boot camp is two weeks away. Kelly is born that December.

It's 1984, and she hides her wrist under long-sleeved shirts. The man's name she can show her father, but the woman's? Oh no, no no never. The man's is light, barely there, the woman's hardly noticeable. She shows her mother though, who smiles and beams with pride and a sadness she's never seen before.

It's 1985; she's 19 when she first tries to kill herself. Her father sees the two names on her wrist, goes ballistic - " _Two names, Jennifer? Two?!"_ \- and she wants them gone. The knife can never touch the marks, can never disfigure them, but she tries anyway. She tries and tries because she can't have two names, she just can't.

It's 1985, and the name _Jennifer_ on his wrist burns.

It's 1985, and 6-year-old Abby doesn't understand why her wrist hurts, a black smudge where a name will eventually appear.

It's 1991; he's 27 when he first contemplates suicide, turning the gun over in his hands. Shannon's gone, a cold grey name left in her place, Kelly's gone, and the two names left on his wrist, the one that's barely lit especially, are sure to be better off without him.

It's 1991, and she notices that on this day, the name _Leroy_ burns just slightly.

It's 1991, and 12-year-old Abby has a basic understanding of why her wrist burns, but the name on her wrist is still a smudge.

It's 1993, and Diane shows him his name on her wrist. He hates the heartbreak in her eyes when he shows her his.

1995, her father kills himself. She never believes it to be a suicide, despite the evidence saying otherwise.

It's 1995, and his wrist throbs. It's subconscious that he rubs his finger over the name _Jennifer_. Rebecca doesn't bother being subtle in her affair, but he's still careful to not let her see the names.

It's 1995; 16 year-old-Abby feels her wrist throb where the smudge is and unconsciously, she rubs the spot.

It's 1997, and she wakes up ecstatic. The name on her wrist is actually two, and she's never been more excited. It was a rarity to have more than one, even rarer to find someone with three or more. She'd done so much research leading up to her mark that she could recite most of it by memory. She runs her fingers over the names _Leroy_ and _Jennifer_ for the rest of the day.

It's 1997 and he feels a warmth spread through him. The third name on his wrist, _Abigail_ , is outlined darker now. He knows what it means. He's waited 15 years for this moment, and it leaves him feeling hollow.

It's 1997 and _Abigail_ becomes a clear name on her wrist, shining right below _Leroy_. She wants both of the names to just go away; she didn't deserve either of them.

It's 1999; Abby wakes sometime in the morning to both names on her wrist burning, and she feels an overwhelming sense of longing overtake her.

It's 1999. Their wrists burn when they see each other and know without looking that it's a match. They marvel over the third name, but they don't say much. They'd never find her anyway, barely 20 now, while they were both mid-30s. She wouldn't want them. Hell, they wouldn't want each other if it wasn't for fate's cruel pull. They walk away from each other, their wrists burning against the invisible pull.

It's 2000, and when Stephanie shows him the name on her wrist, he sighs, signs the divorce papers. He didn't understand why he let one soulmate go, didn't understand why he would marry someone who wasn't his soulmate.

It's 2000, and her dad is dead, heart attack. Gloria's mark turns a cold grey. She throws herself into her studies, tries not to think of the possibility of her own names turning dark like that.

It's 2000, and for the first time, the name _Abigail_ burns.

It's 2001. She has a triple major, top of her class. She's brilliant, and when Agent Gibbs looks at her, she feels her entire world implode, captivated by his intense blue eyes. Every thought she has is replaced by him.

It's 2003, Cairo. Like her, Ziva's wrist has two names. She sees her own name, runs her fingers over it, and another name, _Caitlin_. She smiles softly, sadly, because fate was cruel.

It's 2005. It has to happen eventually. Where one is, the other will follow. And like clockwork, her wrist burns when she makes eye contact with the redheaded-Director for the first time. The dark emerald that stare into her own jade-colored eyes makes her weak, her wrist burning, and she reaches to grab at it.

It's 2006. Mikel shows her his wrist, her name plastered on it proudly, a smile on his lips. She shows him hers, _Leroy_ and _Jennifer_ still there, constant, still in her heart too despite all her attempts at avoidance. She's not expecting his reluctance to accept that while she may be his soulmate, he's not hers.

It's 2007. They're arguing, loudly. She can't hear or see it, but her wrist is burning so much that working is impossible. Her fingers brush along their names as she makes her way up the elevator, stopping on the third level. It's clear they're in her office, and she doesn't care about the looks she gets as she breezes past Cynthia, doesn't bother to knock because _some people are trying to work_. She doesn't slam the door because even angry, she has manners, but she shuts it loudly, as if opening the door in the first place hadn't gotten her attention. She probably looks a mess, barely having gotten a total of 6 hours of sleep in the last two days combined, but she honestly can't bring it upon herself to care. They turn towards her, gazes softening as they see her. Her wrist stops burning.

It's 2008, early morning. It's quiet in the house, and she makes her way up the stairs and into the bedroom. Somehow, they're both asleep before her, and she smiles as she situates herself in the middle of the bed, relaxing. But the moment she lays down, she knows they're awake. The crooked smile on Gibbs' lips makes her heart stutter in her chest, and Jen's finger runs along her hip, stroking gently. She lets herself relax.

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 **A/N: I've been working on this for a couple days. Hope you all enjoyed!**


End file.
